Report recommends new Sarnia police station

It’s time for Sarnia to consider building a new police station.

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That’s the recommendation from a $38,000 Dillon Consulting Ltd. review of the Christina Street headquarters, opened in 1987.

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The police service board recently received the results and approved agreeing a joint committee of police board and city officials to consider what to do next.

Board member and city councilor George Vandenberg said the deficiencies of the current building are clear, with limited space to expand, security issues, and a small gun range that means officers must travel for training, taking away from front-line services.

“I’m a big, strong believer in getting a new facility,” he said.

It’ll be up to the committee, that includes city staff and police board members, including Vandenberg, to consider what do next, said board chair and committee member Paul Wiersma.

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“Even under the best timeline, if we went with a new facility, we’re not looking at having that in the next year or two,” Wiersma said.

“These things take time.”

Hopes are to come up with a strategy during the next few months, he said.

The report, following another $36,000 report from Dillon Consulting concluding that it would cost $4.4-million to bring the existing station’s infrastructure up to code — and that doesn’t include other police-specific legislative requirements such as security, prisoner care, and weapon storage, officials have said — concludes the existing site is too small for building expansion, lacks adequate parking, and the existing 4,200-square-meter (45,000 square-foot) building is too small for service operations.

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“While still functional as a building that may be suitable for other uses, it no longer fulfills policing requirements,” the report says, noting an 830-square-meter (9,000-square-feet) training facility that’s been leased at Lambton Mall since 2018 as a stopgap is also imperfect, given it’s subject to price increases.

The headquarters building was constructed prior to Sarnia and Clearwater Township amalgamating in 1991 and is not designed for a city Sarnia’s size, let alone the city’s expected growth, the report says.

Nearly 220 people make use of the existing police station, between sworn members, civilian employees, and other agencies that share the space, it says.

“I think it’s important to emphasize that these are not anticipated needs, these are yesterday’s needs for us,” police chief Derek Davis said, noting concerns about the undersized range and holding cells.

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“The current cell block design is a blatant safety risk to officers, and one that cannot be easily fixed due to the cast-in-place concrete construction of the area of ​​the building,” the report reads. “A recent estimate to alter just one wall was over $300,000.”

Expectations are Davis will be part of the committee’s work, Wiersma said.

City treasurer Jane Qi and facilities manager Tom Burnard were appointed by council last July.

What the committee decides and when remains to be seen, Wiersma said.

“But we’re now in a position where we can start to meet and start the conversation.”

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